The Bank of England’s Chief Economist is Gloomier About the U.K. Economy Than Three Months Ago

The Bank of England’s Chief Economist Andrew Haldane said Friday he is “gloomier” about the outlook for the U.K. economy than he was three months ago, and believes the benchmark interest rate can remain “lower, for longer” without pushing the rate of inflation above the Monetary Policy Committee’s 2% target.

Over the past year, the U.K. economy has broken out of a long period of stagnation and staged a relatively strong recovery, with unemployment falling back to its precrisis level. That has raised expectations that the...